Sure has been a while since the Nationals played a game on South Capitol Street. Sixteen days, as a matter of fact, have elapsed since the Nats hosted the Giants and then departed for the All-Star break, followed by a 10-game road trip.

They return at last tonight, still stinging from a 3-7 swing through Florida, Cincinnati and Milwaukee, but with Stephen Strasburg and Livan Hernandez starting the next two games against the Braves. If you missed this stat I calculated yesterday, the Nats are 18-11 this season when Strasburg or Hernandez starts. When anyone else pitches, they're 24-46. (So, you're saying they've got a chance!)

The Nationals also come home to a less-than-perfect playing surface. Dave Matthews Band played here Friday night, and the damage remains. Almost the entire outfield grass is discolored from the stage and seating area. It's probably just a case where the field needs to be watered and get sunlight for a couple of days and everything will be fine again. But it certainly doesn't look very pretty at the moment.

Jesus, you people will whine about anything. Sometimes I lose my temper with this team too, but I at least try to keep it reasonable.I don't know the details about the concert, but I do know that the Nats don't own the Park. I also know that a band that fills 40,000 seat stadiums probably can't move their schedule around to end up in the mid-Atlantic two weeks earlier than planned. I'm sure the Nats have some control over the use of the Park during the season, but is there any evidence that this was entirely the club's call? Since they don't own the Park, I'd assume it wasn't until I heard otherwise. Have you all heard otherwise?

Hi Mark! off topic, but I wanted to let you know I got my Nats Insider tee shirt! I really like it I would wear it tonight, but my Strasburg shirt is calling my name so I'll wear my Insider shirt to Sat game. For those who haven't gotten theirs yet, it's worth it and supports Mark

Thank you Bowdenball. The whining grates sometimes. Plenty to complain about this season. A DMB concert four days ago that made the grass slightly less pretty than normal is not one of them. That concert, and others like it, will continue to help make Navy Yard a destination year round, increasing the likelihood that we get some good development, including bars and restaurants, right there on half street – which is certainly in the clubs interest. Grass aside, this should be a beautiful evening for some baseball. Last week, staring back and forth between my tickets for tonight, and my 6 months pregnant wife, I was just imagining the difficulties of having to "whatever you need hon" my way out of a sweltering ballpark after just a couple of innings. Alas, the storms came, ruined traffic for many and cooled the area off enough to assure me a full 9 at Navy Yard!

Bowdenball…..if memory serves me correctly when the lease was signed between the city and the Nationals, there is a clause in there that allows the park to be used a certain number of days a season when the Nationals are out of town. The team has no call on this, since it's in the lease. I beleive the Eagles had a show there in June as well while the Nationals were on a road trip. A band like DMB has their tour planned out months in advance and all they cared about what was date worked best and it happened to be 7/23.

As I recall….Nats have complete control of the the Park and it's uses and it's revenue…Stan is making these calls and Nats make the money…other than the lease payment. That is why you can have your wedding at Nats Park if you like….Stan will laugh all the way to the bank.

Anybody know how I might be able to pick up the game in Portland, OR? I'm at a conference and hotel cable is … limited, shall we say. Checked the listings for ESPN, TBS, and TNT but they don't seem to be broadcasting the game. Thanks!

As I recall….Nats have complete control of the the Park and it's uses and it's revenueWrong, boy wonder. They're just the primary tenant. The city owns the park and has ultimate control. They just can't do anything that would interfere with the regular activities of the primary tenant.So, did the Dave Mathews Band do any worse damage than the Pope and his Cardinals did?

I think we are both right but the Pope, the two guys and pianos and DM were all Stan's and the Nationals doing…they control the park in season and out of season…that is what the lease with the city says….boy wonder…

Hey Boy Dumber…check it out…..right from Nats website…http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/was/ballpark/events/events.jsp?loc=policiesEvent Policies and ProceduresNon-game Day AvailabilityNationals Park is available for rent on all non-game days, including evenings and weekends. Any event requiring field access is subject to approval by our groundskeeper.Booking an EventIn order to secure a date, time, and location for an event, the Ballpark Enterprises department will issue a formal contract which requires a signature, Certificate of Insurance, and deposit payment.

Sure, the Nats can use the park for non-baseball activities if they want to. But so can the DCSEC, the ballpark's owner, if they want to – provided it doesn't interfere with Nats events.And I'm standing here right now looking down on CF. It doesn't look all that bad. RFK often looked much worse.

RFK looked worse…..like that is some kind of Standard to be attained……All those events have been pushed by Nats in the between inning stuff and in email to season ticket holders…..just admit you were wrong and you are a jerk.

Does anyone on here, besides JayBee and whichever Anonymous he's currently bickering with, really give a **** about who booked the DMB concert? As was mentioned above, the band's schedule is taken into account, not just the Nationals' schedule. Also, I would imagine that DMB paid the city to rent the stadium, just as the Nationals do. It was a good thing for the neighborhood and the city, and who really cares if the grass doesn't look it's best? I think we, as fans, have a lot more to be worried about right now. A LOT more…

Patterson. Chico. Cordero. Detwiler. Zimmermann. Olsen. Lannan. Marquis. Atilano. Stammen. Walker. (Have I forgotten anyone?) Now it looks like Strasburg will be joining this dubious clique. This has gone wayyyyyy beyond coincidence and "bad luck." Something somewhere is terribly wrong with the way we handle pitching. Are we doing too much? Too little?If Stras winds up being shut down for a prolonged period, there had better be some answers coming quick.

I love that a sellout crowd is seeing the Nats play an excellent ball game. This is what they need to get more folks to the park. It does not have to be only about SS.Way to go Miguel, and your cast of pen mates.